ECE 791/792 Project Proposal
Project Title: Electric Saxophone
Project Team: Michael Peña
ECE Faculty Advisor: Frank Hludik
ECE Courses Involved: 617, 618, 633, 634, 649, 651
Current Date: September 2011
Project Completion Date: May 2012
General Problem:
The saxophone has a few problems that this project will hopefully improve upon. The first
problem is that a saxophone has a limited range which only encompasses 2.5 octaves. This is due
to the limitations due to the physics of acoustics. It is not physically possible to fit any more
notes on the saxophone.
The saxophone has the smallest range of the ordinary woodwind instruments.
Another problem is that practicing is loud and will often bother people, especially if the player is
a beginner. One solution to this problem is the Saxophone mute bag:
As one can imagine this is uncomfortable and does not really help a beginning player as the
player cannot see the keys.
Design Objectives:
The electric saxophone will be able to produce a sound wave electronically instead of
acoustically. This will allow the saxophone to have an extended range as there will be no
limitations due to the physics of acoustics. The range will extend two octaves below and one
octave above.
Original Range
New Range
There will also be a headphone jack to allow the player to listen to the sound without disturbing
others while practicing.
Optional Objectives:
Saxophones do not equate to other instruments. For example, trumpets and baritones have the
same fingerings so a trumpet player can play a baritone with little difficulty. On the extreme side,
a pianist is able to play any instrument imaginable when using an electric keyboard. Therefore it
is possible to have an entire orchestra made up of just pianists. If I finish my desired goals early,
I would like to have the electric saxophone produce sounds from other instruments.
Plan
The saxophone will have a few separate components. The first component will have an
amplifier’s output based on the strength of the blow. This will either need to be based on a
pressure transducer or a wind generator. I believe the pressure transducer will work better as the
wind generator will most likely take a stronger breath than necessary to work. Another
component will be the tonguing switch. This allows the player to put space between the notes.
This will equate to stopping the vibrating reed with the players tongue. Yet another component
will be the keys which will equate to the fingerings of the saxophone. The most important
component will be a microcontroller that will be able to store the sound wave and output the
different frequencies based on which buttons are pressed. The microcontroller will have to be of
low power in order to run on a battery that will fit inside the saxophone. It will also need to be
able to detect multiple key presses at a time because the finished product will have 25 keys
working together. It will also need a fast clock in order to output the sound quickly after the
buttons are pressed. Lastly, there will be the output stage, which will allow the player to use the
speaker in the bell or a headset.
Optionally, I will include an instrument selection which will allow the player to choose which
type of sound the instrument will produce. For example, Trumpet, Trombone, etc.
Microcontroller
to monitor key
presses
Breath
Pressure
Sensor
Tonguing
Switch
Output
through
speakers or
headset
Instrument
Selection
(Optional)
Keys
Testing and Implementation
I will be taking the completed design to my friends in the UNH Band and have them rate how
well it works.
Budget
Category
Microcontroller
Saxophone
Circuitry
Miscellaneous
Total
Parts
Microcontroller
Hardware attachments
Buttons/Switches
Speakers
Breath sensor
Wires
Battery Connection
Price
$40
$50
$100
$10
$5
$15
$10
$1
$50
$281
Timeline